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On Wednesday, 21 February 2007 at 5.15 pm in the Bar Association Common Room, the association will be honoured to unveil the portrait of the Hon Mary Gaudron which the Bar Association has commissioned. Mary Gaudron will join us for the unveiling.

Over the last twelve months Mary has kindly donated her time to sit for her portrait by well known portrait artist Sally Robinson. The artist forged a successful career as a fine-art printmaker before depicting the wild landscapes of Australia and Antarctica. Since first exhibiting her portraits in 1999, Sally Robinson has had two accepted for the Archibald Prize Exhibition, two for the Archibald Refuse and three for the Portia Geach Portrait Award exhibition. Her portrait of Hazel Hawke is in the collection of the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, Perth, and her portrait of Phillip Law is in the collection of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart. Her portrait of Mary Gaudron is a truly remarkable work which will, I am sure, become one of the enduring public images of Mary Gaudron throughout Australia.

Practice Direction No 1 of 2007 has been issued by the chief federal magistrate. As noted in the Practice Direction, the new divorce forms are available for use in divorce proceedings from 5 February 2007. The forms and kits are now available at www.familylawcourts.gov.au Printed copies of the kits will be available in family law registries on 5 February 2007. Practitioners and litigants are encouraged to use the new forms commencing 5 February 2007 however the court will not insist on immediate compliance.

Registry staff will accept previous versions of the forms until 30 June 2007 after which time they will no longer be accepted.

The Hon Bob Debus MP, Attorney General, is seeking expressions of interest from qualified persons for appointment as the senior public defender under the Public Defenders Act 1995 for a period of up to seven years. Public defenders are barristers who appear throughout NSW in trials and appeals for legally aided persons charged with serious criminal offences. The senior public defender is responsible to the attorney general for the administration of the public defenders, including their deployment, allocation of duties and assignment of particular cases. The senior public defender is also required to personally undertake some of the more difficult or complex trials and appeals.

$248,670 per annum plus conveyance allowance of $15,840 per annum.

Selection criteria: minimum seven years standing as a legal practitioner; extensive experience as an advocate in appeals (including appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeal and the High Court) and in a wide range of criminal trials (particularly murder trials); managerial experience.

Expressions of interest must be in writing, accompanied by a detailed curriculum vitae and the names of at least two referees, and forwarded to the statutory appointments officer, Attorney Generalâs Department of NSW, GPO Box 6, Sydney NSW 2001, or by e-mail to agrecruitment@agd.nsw.gov.au by 16 February 2007.

Below are the membership lists for the Bar Associationâs 2007 committees. As happens every year, we have received an overwhelming number of offers to assist in the work of the committees. It is simply not possible to take up everyoneâs offer. Thank you to everyone who volunteered to serve.

It is necessary for there to be some change in committee membership each year. It is important that committee membership reflect as wide a cross-section of the Bar as possible. There is neither room on a committee, nor is it fair to others who wish to be on a committee, for members who for whatever reason are not able to make a sustained contribution to the work of their committee. The new committees have been chosen with these things in mind.

During the year the Bar Council will inevitably need the assistance of members on a wide range of matters that do not fall into a committeeâs jurisdiction. This assistance will be sought from those who have volunteered but who at this time we have been unable to place on a committee.

If anyone selected for membership of a committee is at any time unable to give full service, I would ask that he or she let the executive director know as soon as possible.

Thank you to all those members who are not continuing on a committee this year for all their assistance in past years. It is in accordance with the highest standards of the profession that so many members of the Bar keep offering to work on committees, often for many years service.

In a few cases the retiring members will have commitments outstanding, for example a PCC report. I would ask that these commitments be met as quickly as possible.

The end of the Continuing Professional Development year is less than two months away. Many members will be thinking about completing their CPD requirements and obtaining the final few points required in order to renew their practising certificates. As in previous years, the association will be running six regional conferences in February and March to allow all members the opportunity to accrue the necessary number of points by 31 March 2007. As interest in the mini-conferences grows year-by-year the Bar Association has moved away from the traditional university venues to allow greater numbers to attend and to encourage members to consider attending the regional events with their partners and family.

The Orange mini-conference is always well attended due, in no small part, to the hospitality shown by the local members, led by Bill Walsh. The dinner on the Saturday evening allows everyone to relax after a long day and enjoy some of the best wines the region has to offer. This year the Orange mini-conference will be held on 3 March.

Sydney and Parramatta barristers are also well catered for. On 17 March the Sydney mini-conference will be held at the Four Points by Sheraton, Darling Harbour. This event is always well subscribed and members are encouraged to register early if they wish to attend.

The Parramatta conference will be held on the final day of the CPD year, Saturday 31 March, at the Carlton Hotel, Parramatta. The ACT conference will be held at the Canberra Hyatt on 24 March.

Members of the Bar Council and the judiciary have already volunteered to present papers at many of the conferences. The complete programme for each venue is still being finalised and will be published on the Bar Association web site shortly. A registration form is available on the homepage. The Bar Association would like to acknowledge the generous support of LexisNexis as primary sponsors of CPD regional miniconferences. Silqware Pty Ltd are also supporting these conferences.

As of 2007/08, the CPD year will run from 1 April to 31 March. As a transitional measure, the 2006/07 CPD year will run from 1 July 2006 to 31 March 2007. Barristers must still accrue 10 CPD points in this period, with one point being accrued in each of the four strands.

It has become the practice to hold a dinner on the night of the new silks taking their bows in the High Court in Canberra. The dinner to mark the occasion will be held in the Great Hall of the High Court of Australia on Monday, 29 January 2007 at 7.00pm for 7.30pm. All barristers (not just the new silks) and their partners are invited to attend. Dress will be black tie and the cost will be $140.00 per person (including GST). The dinners have proved to be very enjoyable in the past and it is hoped that a large number from the Bar will be able to attend.

Mr R N (Nick) Gye of 16 Wardell Chambers died on 29 December 2006. A funeral service will be held at St James Church, King Street, Sydney on Monday, 8 January 2007, commencing at 11am. Followed by a private burial. In lieu of flowers donations to St James Music Foundation.